LETTS

Despite Louisa-Muscatine threatening to push the game to full sets, the Ravens earned a hard fought fourth set win to defeat the Falcons, 3-1 (25-20. 25-14, 28-30, 25-23) on Sept. 17. 

The home Falcons were in search of their first win of the season, but Hillcrest won the first two sets to set up a potential sweep in this Southeast Iowa Super Conference battle. 

To say the third set was close would be an understatement. Once both teams were knotted up at 6-6, they stayed within three points of each other for the rest of the game. 

Both the Ravens and the Falcons did not let each other build up a big lead and the game went to a deuce. Finally, it was the Falcons who broke through with two consecutive points to win 30-28. 

The next set also came down the wire and nearly went to a deuce, but this time it was Hillcrest who scored two straight points to close out the set and pick up the all-important conference win. 

It was a big night for Hillcrest’s Malia Yoder. The standout senior led the Ravens with 25 kills and 27 digs. Her 25 kills are a new career high. 

Also putting together, a strong performance was Claire Withrow. The junior setter had team highs in assists (41) and service aces (4). 

“Malia Yoder had a career night in kills. She’s going to be a Hillcrest legend in the record books when she’s done. She’s also struggling with a quad injury, but she knows how to still be effective,” Hillcrest coach Brandon Statler told KCII after the win against Louisa-Muscatine.  

“Hats off to Claire Withrow, still working through her foot injury and able to finish off those long matches. For the others on the team to step up and be able to mix it up when we’re short on hitters is critical.”

Hillcrest 3, Pekin 1

Getting to stay at home for their next conference battle, the Ravens took care of business against Pekin, with a 3-1 (25-20, 27-29, 25-22, 25-20) victory on Sept. 19. 

With the win, Hillcrest (9-2) raised its conference record to 3-1 while the Panthers (4-5) had their conference record drop to 1-4. 

Going over 20 kills for the second game in a row, Malia Yoder led the Ravens in kills (22) and digs (21) once again. Continuing her impressive junior season, Claire Withrow dished out a team high 40 assists. 

Also making strong plays on offense was Kylee Statler and Niva Helmuth, ending the game with 11 and 12 kills respectively. 

Cardinal Tournament 

It was a near perfect weekend for the Ravens as they went 3-1 in tournament play at the Cardinal Invitational on Sept. 21. 

Playing in four matches, the Ravens only dropped two sets during the entirety of the tourney. Their lone loss came against Van Buren, 2-1 (25-22, 19-25, 8-15). 

Their wins came against familiar foe Highland, 2-0 (25-15, 25-19), the host school Cardinal, 2-0 (27-25, 25-19), and Twin Cedar, 2-0 (25-6, 25-9). 

Up next for Hillcrest (12-3) is a road SEISC tournament matchup against Holy Trinity (8-5) on Sept. 26.